IRVINE, Calif. – Two former All-Americans at Concordia University Irvine and a national championship team were inducted on Saturday as new members of the Kenneth A. Walker CUI Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Two-sport athlete Jaime Gast, men's volleyball alum Naseri Tumanuvao and the 2013 CUI softball team that won the NAIA National Championship were honored during a ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 20 on the second floor mezzanine of the CU Arena.

Following the ceremony, the new members of the CUI Athletics Kenneth A. Walker Hall of Fame were also introduced during halftime of the men's basketball game againt Fresno Pacific.

A Two-Sport Star Shines Bright

Jaime Gast excelled as both a women's volleyball and basketball player at Concordia between 1995 and 2000. 

Gast was a NAIA All-American in basketball in 2000 and ranks third all-time in career points with 1,785 to her name. Only Gitte Mejer (2,177 career points) and recent 2022 graduate Michaela VanderKlugt (2,114) have ever scored more in a Concordia uniform for the women's basketball program.

She still holds the school records for most free throws made and attempted in a career. She is also one of four players to come up with 10 steals in a single game. Gast ranks fifth in program history in both career minutes played and career rebounds, plus she is still No. 4 in career assists and defensive rebounds.  She was a three-time All-GSAC selection and a part of more than 125 victories during her esteemed career.  

On the volleyball side, Gast also is sixth in career digs and 10th in career kills (PacWest Player of the Year Kirra Schulz recently joined Gast in the Top 10 in this category this fall).  She also still sits among the best at CUI in digs per set and digs in a single season.

To put in perspective how dominant she was in multiple sports during her Concordia career, Gast ranks in the Top 10 in 25 different women's basketball categories – AND – in six volleyball columns in the record books.

One Of The Firsts

A 2013 NAIA All-American and also the 2013 NAIA Player of the Year, Naseri Tumanuvao was the leading scorer for Concordia during the team's climb to the 2013 NAIA National Championship. 

During that historic season with Concordia, Tumanuvao also posted the best hit percentage in the 2013 NAIA National Tournament for the champs.

He ranks Top 10 overall in a whopping 25 different categories in the CUI record books – including in aces, attacks, kills per set and hit percentage.

Tumanuvao holds the school records for most kills in a single season (374) and most aces in a single game (6). 

He ranks fourth all-time in career kills and is second overall in points in a single season (424). 

Tumanuvao has stayed in the game and local as he is currently an assistant coach with the UC Irvine men's volleyball program.

Paving The Way

The Concordia softball program has evolved into a national powerhouse over the last 15 seasons under the leadership of head coach Crystal Rosenthal and associate head coach Rose Imbriano. Part of this foundation can be traced back to the 2013 NAIA National Championship team that went an astounding 52-3 over the course of that storybook season.

This group of young women combined to reel off a perfect 16-0 record in conference play and emerged as GSAC champions before forging ahead to cement their place in history with the program's first NAIA National Championship banner that still hangs in the CU Arena just a few hundred feet from the softball field.

Current CUI athletic trainer and former hitter Jasmin Dresser earned GSAC Player of the Year honors that season. Current CUI Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) Brittany Pereda served as a graduate assistant coach as well.

Katie Cotta was GSAC Pitcher of the Year and Rosenthal was tabbed GSAC Coach of the Year.  Joining Cotta and Dresser as All-Conference selections were Courtney Young, Emily Craig and Caitrin Debaun.  The pitching staff compiled a microscopic 0.63 ERA, which remains the lowest in program history, despite a ton of impressive campaigns by CUI pitchers over the past decade.

"This entire Hall of Fame class is impressive in so many ways," said Rosenthal.  "These student-athletes all played at this university at same time, they all proved they had what it takes to win – both in the classroom and in their sport, and they are great examples of success stories as Concordia alumni to this day. On behalf of everyone here at CUI Athletics, we are excited to share what many of us already knew – that these student-athletes are among the best of the best who have ever competed and represented this university."

Congrats to all the new Hall of Fame inductees on joining this esteemed club of all-time greats who have walked the halls and worn the Concordia uniform!